10. Messi goal vs. Manchester United (2008/09)

Let’s start with the goal Messi scored for Barcelona in the 2008/09 Champions League finale against Manchester United.

Barcelona’s number 6, Xavier, assists Messi in a pass that doesn’t miss a beat: Leo Messi scores a header goal that guaranteed Barcelona the Champions League trophy that year.

To understand why this goal is so special, aside from being the winning score, let’s consider some stats: Messi has now played 1,045 games at the professional level. In those games, he has scored 821 goals. 

Out of all those goals, only 22 were headers, which means this isn’t a common strike for the player but was precisely what secured his team the title.